so let’s see… one of the world’s greatest living musicians was out due to injury. when she comes back she chooses one of the greatest works in the repertoire. meanwhile, all you can do is be a troll. gotta love the internets.

To some it may be a great violin concerto to others not..obviously
you think it great and I shall resist
labeling you for that thought. She is celebrated
for playing the violin well, as can dozens of others .It is good she has recovered from a” muscle strain”
and is able return to her occupation.

Well, if you have an issue with the Beethoven, then don’t take your anger out on Hilary Hahn. Blame Ludwig for that…and acknowledge that it might be a matter of personal taste, not of musicological fact.

Besides, what in all the world does the quality of Beethoven’s concerto have to do with the Encores CD???

Given that it thematically continues her recordings of concertos by Arnold Schönberg, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, as well as new commissions of Jennifer Higdon and Edgar Meyer, a CD of sonatas by Charles Ives, an improvisation CD with Hauschka; given the fact that she integrated the encores into her recital programmes for two years; given that she personally took the time to ask composers and commissioned their pieces, I fail to see what the publicity stunt is.

Of course she still plays mainstream concertos; she would be foolish not to do so. Beethoven, after all, is one of the greatest composers to ever have lived, and an artist who ignores the greatest pieces of classical music because they are ‘old’ would not be very smart. That being said, look at what she plays in a season, and you’ll see she is far from being a mainstream violinist. For instance, here is the programme of her last recital in Montreal, last spring:
SCHOENBERG, Fantaisie pour violon et piano, opus 47
SCHUBERT, Fantaisie pour violon et piano en do majeur, D. 934
TELEMANN, Fantaisie pour violon seul no 6 en mi mineur, TWV 40:19
BARRETT, Shade
GARCĺA ABRIL, Three Sighs
MOZART, œuvre annoncée ultérieurement

The Encore competition if one reads carefully all the ifs and buts was a real
waste of time but it pretended to serve
the needs of the violin world .I am positive Ms.Hahn as a celebrated violinist is deluged with pleas
from countless composers to play or at
least look their works for violin, so a
competition would be a waste of time,
but it does make for good PR work .
Being away from the stage one had hoped her return would have been more imaginative and cause for celebration other than another dutiful
rendition of the Beethoven .Hearing
the Higdon work , one wonders why ?

Even though HH is not my favorite violinist performing these days, the quality of her playing is usually very high and i am reasonably confident that her Beethoven tonight was considerably better than merely “another dutiful rendition”.

I am so glad she is back. She has a lovely style and blends her repertoire very well with regard to old masters and worthy new composers. In this troubled world, anyone who adds beauty and grace to the mix gets my vote as a great person and artist. As for people who are always looking to drag others through the proverbial muck, it says more about them than the object of their ire. Ignoring them is the best way to get them to slink off and spread their misery elsewhere. If someone in the public eye is abusing people or animals or befriending dictators who are responsible for mass suffering and murder, then it is right to complain publicly and vigorously. If the person plays a tune or stars in a film one doesn’t like why trash them? Just don’t buy a ticket!

From the archives

From the archives

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